Heroes of the Surf

WHAM! The Pliny
jolts as if Black Beard himself has just punched her in the belly. Pedro and
I slide and smack--bang--into the bulwark.

"We're grounded," cries the first mate. "We've hit a shoal!"

Review excerpts

"A storm, a shipwreck and possibly pirates! What more could you want from a historical seafaring adventure? . . . Young children may clutch your forearm as you read this one aloud, but isn’t it a nice change of pace — in this time of “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Titanic” — to tell them a seaborne adventure featuring genuine heroes?"
-- New York Times book review, May 16, 2012

Heroes of the Surf

In May of 1882, a large steamship ran aground off the coast of New Jersey. Elisa Carbone imagines what it was like for two boys on that ship: waking up in the middle of the night, waves crashing over the side, the storm too big to lower the lifeboats. And then the flashing of light from shore--the surfmen, true "heroes of the surf," come to rescue them. The award-winning author's meticulous research combined with Nancy Carpenter's spectacular illustrations make this thrilling adventure on the high seas one not to be missed!

Elisa Carbone is a full-time writer and a part-time rock climber, windsurfer, and white water paddler. Her books include Stealing Freedom, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, Storm Warriors, an ALA Notable and winner of the Virginia Library Association's 2002 Jefferson Cup Award, The Pack, a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year for 2004, Last Dance on Holladay Street, a New York Public Library Best Book for the Teenage, 2006, and her popular middle grade novels, Starting School With an Enemy and Sarah and the Naked Truth. Her most recent historical novel, Blood on the River: James Town 1607 is a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year for 2006 and winner of the Virginia Library Association’s 2007 Jefferson Cup Award. Her first picture book, Night Running, How James Escaped With the Help of His Faithful Dog, illustrated by E.B. Lewis, was a 2008 Parent Choice Award recommended book. Her latest novel, Jump (Viking, 2010) is a 2011 ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults.

"One minute she is buried in documents researching deliveries of paint to Manteo and Pea Island, North Carolina in 1895. The next minute she is windsurfing or rock climbing or kayaking the whitewater of the Potomac River. Elisa Carbone pays attention to accuracy and detail whether she is working on her next historical novel or finding the best crevice for her foot on the next rock."Washington Parent
(Feature excerpt.)

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